Viola pubescens, commonly called the downy yellow violet, is a plant species of the genus Viola and is classified within the subsection Nudicaules of section Chamaemelanium.[1] It is a widespread North American violet found in rich, mesic woodlands, and sometimes in meadows, from Minnesota and Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south to Virginia.[2]V. pubescens produces two different types of flowers during the season, including chasmogamous flowers in the early spring and cleistogamous flowers summer through fall.[3]
Similar-looking species include the round-leaved yellow violet (Viola rotundifolia). The two species can be differentiated by leaf shape and leaf margin. Additionally, V. pubescens has both basal and cauline leaves,[2] while V. rotundifolia has only basal leaves.[4]
References
^Ballard, H.E. Jr.; Sytsma, K.J.; Kowal, R. (October 1998). "Shrinking the violets: Phylogenetic relationships of infrageneric groups in Viola (Violaceae) based on Internal Transcribed Spacer DNA sequences". Systematic Botany. 23 (4): 439. doi:10.2307/2419376. JSTOR2419376.
^ abGleason, H.A.; Cronquist, A. (1991). Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Bronx, NY: The New York Botanical Garden Press. p. 162. ISBN978-0-89327-365-1.
^Ballard, H.E.; Cortes-Palomec, A.C.; Feng, M.; Wang, Y.; Wyatt, S.E. (2011). "The chasmogamous/cleistogamous mixed breeding system, a widespread and evolutionarily successful reproductive strategy in angiosperms.". Frontiers in biodiversity studies. Rajasthan, India: Agrobios: Bioscience Publications. pp. 16–41.